CBI files 3 FIRs in Vyapam scam: Cong alleges BJP minister Pradhan took favours from accused

July 16, 2015

Bhopal/New Delhi, Jul 16: The CBI on Wednesday registered three FIRs and formally launched its probe in the Vyapam scam, which generated more political heat, with Congress alleging an accused in the scandal extended favours to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other BJP and RSS leaders, a charge denied by them.

Vyapam scamThe CBI team, which has been camping in Bhopal for the last two days, registered three cases in connection with the massive rigging of examinations for recruitment in government jobs and admissions in educational institutions, naming among others a member of Madhya Pradesh Backward Classess and Minorities Commission member and his son.

The investigating agency also launched a probe into the "mysterious" deaths of five persons associated with the scam. As the agency got down to cracking the cases related to the scandal involving the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), also known by its Hindi acronym Vyapam, Congress released a document purportedly showing Pradhan and some top BJP and RSS functionaries having received favours from a prime accused.

Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala released documents at a press conference in Delhi, based on information claimed to have been recovered from a pen drive seized from accused Sudhir Sharma by the Income Tax department.

Sharma, a mining baron considered close to the ruling establishment in MP, was alleged to have made "payments" also to Prabhat Jha, BJP national vice president, his two sons, Suresh Soni, RSS joint general secretary and BJP MP Anil Dave.

"Complicity of the entire BJP leadership with deep-rooted links to RSS in Vyapam scam is thus writ large. The only alternative is a Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation after removing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan," they said.

Besides Chouhan, the Congress leaders also demanded the resignation of Pradhan, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister.

Pradhan, whose travel tickets were alleged to have been booked by Sharma, said he knew the Vyapam accused as he was an ABVP activist but insisted it was the BJP office which bought tickets for him when he travelled for party work. "Not at all. No question," he said when asked if his tickets had been booked by Sharma. BJP secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said the Madhya Pradesh High Court-appointed SIT had probed these charges and given "clean chits". "Now the CBI is looking into it. Let them investigate," he said.

Jha, a Rajya Sabha MP, too denied the allegations, saying since he was entitled to air travel, the bill for which was footed by the House, there was no need for others to but tickets for him. CBI sources said the three FIRs have been registered in connection with Pre-Medical Tests for 2009, 2010 and Pre-PG Examination of 2011. The cases have been lodged under various sections of Indian Penal Code pertaining to cheating and forgery.

The CBI has named 21 candidates in the FIR in connection with PMT Test 2010, eight in the second case related to Pre-PG examination of 2011 which includes Gulab Singh Kirar a member of the MP Backward Classes and Minorities Commission and his son Shakti Singh Kirar. Others named include former Controllers of Examination, Vyapam, Sudhir Bhadauria and Pankaj Trivedi.

As the Supreme Court, while handing over the investigation of Vyapam scam to CBI, had also asked it to probe the deaths of people linked to it, the agency also called for records from the Superintendents of Police of Ujjain, Kanker, Gwalior, Jhabua and DIG, Indore, records of "mysterious" deaths of five people.

The Congress has alleged at least 49 people associated with the scandal have so far died under "mysterious" circumstances. Records have been sought in connection with the deaths of Namrata Damor, Vijay Patel, Rajendra Arya, Akshay Singh and Deepak Verma. Akshay Singh, a TV Today group reporter, had recently died minutes after interviewing Damor's parents. The body of Damor, an MBBS student and a suspected beneficiary of the scam, was found near railway tracks in Ujjain district.

The death was initially described as murder by the MP police, which later closed the case calling it accidental. Patel was accused in three cases related to Vyapam probe carried out by STF of MP police. A resident of Rewa district, he was found dead in Kanker, Chhattisgarh.

Arya, a suspected middleman facing probe in the scam, was found dead a week after he was released from prison. Police claimed he was suffering from a liver infection. Verma, also an alleged middleman in the PMT scam, was killed in a road accident in 2010.

Meanwhile, Congress has called a state-wide bandh on Thursday to demand the resignation of Chouhan.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday paid tribute to the senior doctor of city government-run LNJP Hospital who died battling COVID-19, saying the society has "lost a very valuable fighter".

The 52-year-old doctor served in the front line of the war against the pandemic at the government facility, and died of novel coronavirus infection in an ICU of a private hospital on Sunday.

"Dr Aseem Gupta, a senior doctor of LNJP Hospital succumbed to Covid yday. He was known for going out of his way to serve his patients. We have lost a very valuable fighter. Delhi salutes his spirit and sacrifice...," Kejriwal tweeted.

The chief minister also said in his tweet that he has spoken to Dr Gupta''s wife and "offered my condolences and support".

LNJP Hospital is a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government. It recently completed 100 days of being declared a coronavirus facility.

"LNJP Hospital has displayed great fortitude in the face of acute challenges. It''s recovery rate is going up, death rate is reducing, ICU capacity is being ramped up - the hospital is saving so many lives," the chief minister said.

A condolence meeting to pay respect to Dr Gupta has been scheduled at 1 pm in the office of the Medical Director of the hospital, a senior official said.

The doctor, a consultant anaesthesiologist died at the Max hospital, Saket in south Delhi, a private dedicated COVID-19 facility.

"He was a front line anaesthesia specialist who contracted COVID-19 infection while on duty. He tested positive on June 6, when he had mild symptoms and was shifted to a quarantine facility. His symptoms aggravated on June 7 and he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the LNJP Hospital," the LNJP Hospital said in a statement on Sunday.

He was shifted to Max Hospital, Saket on June 8 on his request, it said.

The doctor was battling the disease for the last two weeks at Max Hospital, where he succumbed to the illness on Sunday, the statement said.

He was Specialist, Grade I, in the Department of Anaesthesia at the LNJP Hospital, the statement said.

Several hundreds of healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 till date in Delhi.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Chennai, Jul 30: Tamil Nadu government on Thursday extended the Covid-19 lockdown till August 31, giving only a few relaxations like allowing delivery of non-essential goods by e-commerce sites. The ban on public transport has been extended till August 31, while availing of e-pass for inter-district and inter-state travel will continue to be in force.

In a detailed statement, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a “complete lockdown” during which only essential services would continue to be in force on all Sundays during the month of August across the state.  

In Chennai, restaurants will be allowed to open dine-in facilities at 50 percent of its total capacity from 6 am to 7 pm from August 1, while vegetable shops, grocery outlets and standalone commercial establishments will also be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 7 pm.

E-commerce sites have been allowed to begin delivery of non-essential goods from August 1, while the ban on public transport, temples in urban areas and towns, cinema halls, shopping malls, and gyms would continue till August 31.

It also said companies or factories in Chennai that have been allowed to function with 50 percent of staff can increase their strength to 75 percent from August 1.

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The government also asked companies to encourage its employees to work from home and advised commercial establishments to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as advised by it. Inter-state or inter-district travel will be allowed only with e-pass, while ban on metro and suburban trains continues.

The decision to extend the lockdown till August 31 comes as Tamil Nadu continues to grapple with an increasing number of coronavirus cases. The prevalence of the virus is no more limited to one city or region of the state with almost all districts reporting fresh cases, some of them over 200 new patients, every day.

On Thursday morning, Tamil Nadu’s Covid-19 tally was 2,34,114 including 1,72,883 discharges and 3,741 deaths. The active cases stood at 57,490.

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News Network
January 30,2020

New Delhi, Jan 30: Tension spiralled in Jamia Nagar on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a Jamia Millia Islamia student before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

Massive protests erupted in the area after the incident with hundreds of agitated people gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel.

The man, who identified himself as "Rambhakt Gopal", was subsequently overpowered by police and detained. He was taken into custody and was being interrogated, police said.

The entire drama, which triggered panic in the area, was captured by television cameras that showed the man in light coloured pants and a dark jacket, walking away on an empty road barricaded by police, turning around and shouting at the protesters in Hindi, "Here, take this freedom."

The gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun. Police said they were verifying whether it is his real name.

Before the attack, the man also put out messages on Facebook stating "Shaheen Bhag Khel Khatam" (Run Shaheen, the game is over). Another message stated, "Please wrap me in saffron in my last journey with slogans of Jai Shri Ram". His Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of his posts were circulated widely on social media platforms.

Several students recapped how their peaceful march on Gandhi's death anniversary became violent.

"We were moving towards the Holy Family Hospital where the police had raised barricades. Suddenly, a gun-wielding man came out and opened fire. One bullet hit my friend's hand," Aamna Asif, a student of economics at the university, told PTI.

She said her friend, Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student, was trying to calm the attacker but he shot at him injuring his left hand.

Farooq, who belongs to Kashmir, was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Ragibh Naushad, an LLB student at the university, said, "The Jamia Coordination Committee organised a march to pay homage to Gandhi ji on his death anniversary. It started at 12 noon from Gate number 7, but police denied the permission and stopped the march near the Holy Family hospital.

"A man named Gopal, came there and started brandishing a weapon and later shot a round. He was also chanting pro-CAA slogans."

The incident led to panic in the area.

Khalid Hassan, a JMI alumnus, said initially many were not sure whether it was a gunshot or a tyre burst.

There was heavy police and media presence when the incident took place.

The students were heading from Jamia to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat. The march was stopped at the Holy Family Hospital near the university.

Chinmoy Biswal, DCP (southeast), said the students wanted to take out a march from Jamia to Rajghat but were denied permission.

"They were being repeatedly told that the protest should be carried out peacefully. We had barricaded the road just before the Holy Family hospital. Meanwhile, a person was seen in the crowd who waved something which appeared to be a weapon."

"We have detained him and are interrogating him. One person has also been injured," Biswal said.

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